Wednesday, August 1, 2012

This (Late) Day in History–July 30 1733

OK – I get it, its a little late – but still an important date in Masonic History….so I wanted to include it.

On this day – July 30 1733, at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern on King (now State) Street, Henry Price - empowered by a warrant from the Premier Grand Lodge in England - gathered together with 18 men and organized what would become the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. Based on this precedent, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts is the oldest Grand Lodge in the Western Hemisphere and the third oldest in the world. They immediately instituted "The First Lodge," today known as St. John's Lodge. The first duly constituted Lodge in the new world. This image is from the plaque affixed to the building on the site where the Bunch of Grapes Tavern once stood.